A few days in Xiahe, China

Traveling in China in 1999
Portrait of children in Xiahe, China

People ask me sometimes "How did you get in Thailand?" and I answer "By airplane". But in reality it was a bit more complex, so I did write some postings about that. I did write a few stories with photos about it and I call that Blast from the past. Here are two photos made in Xiahe (China) while traveling in China in 1999. This place was one of the most impressive places to visit during my all 4 weeks tour in China.

Traveling in China in 1999
Young monks at the footsteps of the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, China

🌍 Xiahe, Gannan, Gansu, China

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Travel Tips : Suggested motorbike routes in Nan province

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Route 1081 to Bo Klua Motorbike riding in Thailand, especially in North Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan) is becoming popular. Not only for Big Motorbikes but also for scooters and even some people do the same routes by bicycle ! So in a serie Suggested Motorbike Routes I will show you some great routes to ride. Some people will ride routes like this in 1 day but you could also do it slow and take 2 or 3 days (you will see much more). I am now I think motorbike riding for more as 10 years in Thailand, to read my reports of motorbike riding see  Motorbike Trip Reports Nan Province . For more information about Nan province have a look at  Destination Travel Guide Nan . And of course I start this serie with Nan province, one of Thailand's last remote provinces with stunning mountains, waterfalls and National Parks. And paradise for motorbike riding. And because Nan province is so remote the roads are not busy and relatively safe to ride. All trips start in Nan to
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About accommodation in Nan town

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Although Nan province is (luckily) not as much visited by tourists as example  Chiang Mai , there is a good  variety of accommodation all over Nan province. Currently there are quite a few new Guesthouses, Homestay's and Hotels being openend in  Nan town  and  Pua . As said Nan province is not busy tourists like Chiang Mai but during Public Holidays / Long Weekends (especially during the cool season) many Thai people will find their way to Nan province. During those days it might be a good idea to make a reservation in advance. Be aware that when using booking websites like   Booking, Agoda or Airbnb.  t hat the term "Nan suburbs" could mean the hotel is in Pua, what is 60 km north of Nan town. Not really a suburb!  As Nan province is not (yet) a tourist destination for foreigners you might experience that staff at your accommodation is not or limited able to speak English. Not all accommodation in Nan province can be booked via Agoda or Booking. Some accommodation do not
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Destination Travel Guide Nan in North Thailand

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Welcome to Nan province in North Thailand where live is still slow and tranquil. Nan province is  tucked away in the most eastern part of North Thailand and was once a sleepy province. And even nowadays Nan province is still one of the most remote & off the beaten track province's of Thailand, where nature blends well with culture and ancient temples. In modern times Nan province has an airport, comfortable boutique hotels and trendy coffee shops, along with picturesque villages in the mountains, but 40 years ago Nan was considered a wild region and sometimes even off-limited for traveling. Time has changed however and the centuries old temples built in Tai Lue architecture style with beautiful murals, green mountains and ethnic minorities are now starting to attract Thai tourists and even slowly some foreigner tourists are coming to Nan province. The main destination for visitors of Nan province is its capital Nan town and nearby surroundings. It is however not the only place
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On the motorbike along the famous 1148 from Nan to Chiang Kham

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Motorbike trip 2017. With the cool season starting any motorbike rider in Thailand will feel the urge to go riding. Now  I have been riding a lot in North-Thailand already and I am always looking for new roads. So where to go? And how long? As I do not like planning I only did answer the first question when leaving home at 6:30 in the cool and foggy morning ..... first day to Chiang Kham via the famous route 1148. For more motorbike trip reports see  Motorbike Trip Reports. Day 1 from Tha Wang Pha to Chiang Kham As I thought to have an almost full tank of gasoline I did straight hit route 1148 from Tha Wang Pha. While riding to Song Kwae I noticed that I actually had far from an almost full tank of gasoline. So I stopped at the brand new gasoline station just before Song Kwae. Good toilets and even a coffee shop (albeit it was still closed). A bit after Song Kwae I made my first side-track to a waterfall, it was a nice and good road into the mountains, passing a few very small h
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Stone carved lintel at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram

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Stone carved lintel at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram, Thailand Reposting from 2016. Since 2000 I have been many times at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram, so above photo is probably from 2003. But what a beautiful piece of ancient art! As the Greater Khmer Kingdom once stretched also out over what we now call Thailand there are many ancient Khmer ruins to be found in North-East Thailand. And they are an example of the high standard of cultivation and technical knowledge that was in South-East Asia already hundreds of years ago. Imagine how they build those temples out of huge rocks that had to be transported many km's. Imagine the art and hard work to make this kind of lintel's. Prasat Hin Phanom Rung is located about 60 km south of Buriram  town. For more postings about ancient ruins / temples click below on the label  Ancient-Temples.  
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Visiting Doi Samer Dao at Sri Nan National Park in Nan

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In December 2017 we made a day trip, or should I say night trip, to Doi Samer Dao at Sri Nan National Park. The National Park is just 16km from Na Noi or 66km from Nan town. Sri Nan National Park is famous for 2 things, Doi Samer Dao and Pha Chu (lovers rock). We did go to Doi Samer Dao what is in the cool season a famous place to visit to watch a sunset over Na Noi, watch the stars (dao) at night and in the very early morning see a stunning sunrise over a sea of clouds above the Nan River. For more information about National Parks in Nan, North Thailand have a look HERE . For more information about Nan province have a look at  Destination Travel Guide Nan . As Doi Samer Dao is a major attraction point (for Thai tourists) the National Park enforces a entrance fee of 20 Thai baht per person for Thai people and non-Thai are privileged to pay 5 times more (100 Thai baht). Not that the latter was enforced when I did visit Sri Nan National Park. And you pay 20 Thai baht for your motorbik
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Cooking school in the jungle of Khao Sok

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Cooking at Rungfah Farm Stay at Khao Sok, South Thailand Khao Sok is home to a beautiful limestone mountain range with a tropical jungle and a huge lake and rivers. A great place to go hiking and kayaking. But what to do when it is raining? Well you go for jungle cooking lessons at  Rungfah Farm Stay  what is located in the jungle of Khao Sok. A young local man and his family have setup an ecological farm stay and cooking school. Here you can learn the traditional jungle way of making Thai food. And of course they have 2 very basic bamboo bungalows where you could stay. But we did go for cooking lessons. So we started with walking around at the farm to collect the food that we would be cooking like fresh bamboo sprouts, duck eggs, herbs and vegetables. Then to begin with our host Yu starts to make a small fire to cook the rice in bamboo containers. We did learn how to remove the coconut from the nuts and our coconut curry was cooked on a small BBQ. For everything natural products
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Visiting the Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat

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Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat (1998) Reposting from 2016. Photos were taken in 1998 when I did visit Thailand. At that moment there was a restoration project going on (organized & paid by France). This old Khmer temple is located about 10 km north of Khorat city. I did visit it again in 2010 and it now looks much better. Although having seen the restoration work I wonder if it looks now like it was originally build. The Greater Khmer Kingdom did spread all over what we now call Thailand, South Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam. Most of the ancient Khmer temples can be found in the lower part of the Isaan. And I am trying to visit them all. Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat, Thailand (1998)
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Travel Tips : Loei province Tourist Attractions map

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Pit stop at a viewpoint near Ban Sakad

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  Our plan was to visit a forest area on the ridge of the mountains near Ban Sakad in Nan province, North Thailand. But the road became too difficult to continue so tried to get to another famous village in the mountains but we did get a flat tyre. So we had to abandon all plans and return to Ban Sakad to have the tyre fixed while we were having lunch. But we will come back soon! In the meanwhile we made a stop at a stunning viewpoint what would make a great camping spot. For more information about Nan province see  Destination Travel Guide Nan .
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